29MarI’m launching an App

I made my own App!

I have always struggled with a way to merge my love for technology and art. For a long time I have wanted to experiment with the latest software and app development for a way to create new forms of fine art. In the past couple years I have seen technology for linking information explode. It started with QR codes, the black and white boxes that are pretty ugly but link to a simple web address. Quickly it jumped to augmented reality, which has not caught on yet for the masses, but I predict it will only be a matter of time. Augmented reality is like a QR code on steroids. It can link to anything from a web address, to a transparent video, to interactive flash file and even 3D landscapes. And it is only going to keep progressing. Google is even developing their own glasses that allow you to see these tagged objects around you all the time. And you know when google is involved, things are going to move fast.

Last summer I heard about a company called Aurasma on a Ted Talk, who was coming out with an app that you could tag your own images in augmented reality. They wanted to be the first company to give this technology to the end user. At that time, it was only being used by big advertising companies who would do tagging for a client for a hefty price. I immediately downloaded the free app and started playing around with it. You could take a picture of an object, overlay a stock video over it and save it. Anyone else with the app was able to come over to the object and scan it with their device and the video linked would pop up and overlay animation right in your screen. It is like another world of information is being seen through your smart device’s camera. It wasn’t long before I realized I wanted to tag my paintings in augmented reality and really test the possibilities of the here.

I knew I wanted to experiment with adding animation and other video effects to a 2-D flat surface. I wanted to push the real capabilities of this as a new medium. In September of last year, I worked with Aurasma to develop my own free skinned version of the app on both Apple and Android devices. It was an amazing opportunity that I was so happy to receive. They are no longer doing this free app skinning service and I can’t believe I got in on the ground level.

Since September I have been working on new body of work made specifically for this app. I will be debuting the work on April 19th on Gallery night as the first ever augmented gallery. Milwaukee Odyssey curated me into a fantastic space at Gallerie M. All of the paintings will be tagged and will be linked to either time-lapse process videos or fun animations.

I have made a page on my website for the app details located at DenaNord.com/AugmentedGalleryApp. And you can check out all the event details at DenaNord.com/AppLaunchParty. I can’t wait to share this with Milwaukee and the art world. It is an exciting time to be both a designer and an artist. Especially with all the attention the art scene in Milwaukee has been getting this past year.

Download the App to try it on this trigger image above.Go to DenaNord.com/AugmentedGalleryApp for download details.

Please share this with friends who might enjoy it and I hope to see you at the April 19th show to see this all in person.

I will be posting more tagged paintings and details about the event as it gets closer. Go to the app details website to download the app today on any smart device. You can see sample trigger images and start playing around with augmented reality. It is going to be a great show and truly a new innovation in the way we look at art on a wall.